Fire and Smoke - Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Chapter 52

My finger doesn't so much as tremble as I keep it fixed still on the trigger, squinting through the sight of the gun, trained steadily on the lone figure walking inwards, their steps echoing against the concrete floor of the warehouse. The figure stays concealed by shadows and is backlit, so I can't quite identify them. The way they move suggests they're not on high alert, though. Could it just be a civilian? The Winter Soldier did tell me Hydra was absolutely certain that this place is abandoned. Just a few steps more and I can see you....

And they step out of the shadows. I instantly recognize the person as Steve Rogers. He isn't wearing his silly costume, I note. Instead, he's standing there in jeans, a grey shirt, and a jacket, his blonde hair clearly visible. I try not to feel a slight twinge of disappointment at the sight of him. I wasn't as stupid as to think Maximoff would just walk straight into my hands. I don't quite understand why the Winter Soldier and Hydra feel so confident that only hacking Stark's servers with a message containing an image of me and my location will spur her to come to us instead of us going to get her, but I have to trust them. Instead of the witch, I get the captain. I follow him looking around himself through the sight. With just one little twitch of my finger I could make him bleed, drain the color out of his face... but that is not my mission.

I lift my head slightly to look over the gun at where I know the Winter Soldier is hiding. I can barely see him, but I know he too knows it's Rogers.

Why isn't he moving? Rogers is close enough by now, standing completely uncovered in the middle of the empty warehouse. I frown, confused, returning to look through the sight, ready to act at the slightest flinch. Nothing happens, though. I feel my jaw muscles contract with tension. I'm just a piece of the puzzle. The Winter Soldier is in charge.

"Bucky?" Rogers suddenly speaks out, loud and clear, his voice steady.

I'm so taken aback by this that I lower the gun a few inches, looking at the scene in front of me with my naked eye instead.

"Bucky, I know you're here." Roger speaks again and even from my vantage point, I can see how the Winter Soldier tenses up.

"I just want to talk." Rogers shows his empty hands, still not directing his speech at any particular spot. He doesn't know where we are. We could get him -easily.

Why the Winter Soldier hasn't attacked by now beats me. My mind works furiously to try to catch up with everything I know. The Winter Soldier's old name was Bucky. I am never to call him that. He is the Winter Soldier now. Bucky was what someone used to call him. Everything in me screams to take control, to disobey the Winter Soldier and take charge, but I don't. I cannot go against my orders, which were very clear. The Winter Soldier is in charge of your recapturing of Maximoff.

"I know it was you who took Olivia." Rogers' calm voice reaches me, snapping me back to the present. "It's okay, Bucky. We just want her back."
I don't understand who he's talking about; I wasn't told of Hydra having already captured someone the Avengers want. My jaw tightens even further, that feeling of having one foot in the door, not quite being told everything returning with full force.

"She's gone." My heart sinks watching a very stiff Winter Soldier slowly stand up, exposing himself to Rogers. What on earth is he playing at? At least he's still pointing his gun straight at Roger's face.

"She's not gone, Bucky. Neither are you." Rogers watches the Winter Soldier without even flinching at the gun aimed straight at him.

I should probably interfere. Just as the thought crosses my mind, the Winter Soldier shakes his head, and I know he isn't reacting to what Rogers just said; it's a sign for me to stay back.

"Where is she?" The Winter Soldier now growls.

"Who?" Rogers asks, for the first time sounding slightly surprised.